Mental health charity Mikeysline celebrates new Nairn location and McDonald's partnership
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A Highland mental health charity is looking forward to supporting more people in Nairn after moving to a new hub.
Mikeysline's Hive has relocated from a base at Highland Yoga Collective – where the cause had been operating on Saturday evenings for around a year – to a new home in the Nairn United Reform Church, in Crescent Road, which will be open on Wednesday evenings to provide confidential face-to-face support.
Mikeysline's CEO Emily Stokes said the move aims to make it accessible to more people by offering a more popular timeslot.
She said: "It's important for us to reach as many people as we can, of all ages. Young people had a really hard time through Covid and they are still living with the effects of lockdown.
"We will be in the halls at the back of the church.
"Reverend Steven Manders has been very active in the community and supported many people who have considered suicide and their families and in general people who struggle so we are looking forward to working with him.
"We want to stress that this service will be accessible and it's not bound to religious backgrounds.
"Mikeysline is not only a suicide prevention charity but we offer support to everyone who is struggling with their mental health or who is living in crisis and/or struggling with anxiety.
"We are really grateful to the Highland Yoga Collective and Fiona Palmer as they hosted us for more than a year. However, we found that moving to a weekday evening would help us be available to more people in need.
"We just want to say that we are here if you need our support."
The Hive will be open from 6pm-10pm on Wednesdays and anyone wanting to use the service can book an appointment at www.mikeysline.co.uk/appointments, telephone during the day at 01463 729000 or email enquiries@mikeysline.co.uk.
This move comes after a successful partnership with Nairn's McDonald's franchise, which donated £4000 to the charity and provides mental health sessions for staff.
Franchisee Iain Fyfe said: "Working in Nairn in the past year, it soon became obvious that mental health was such a prevalent issue in the community – especially among young people.
"At the store we have a very young workforce – the majority is aged between 16 and 24 – so it became a really obvious partnership to strike up."
He said having Mikeysline's representatives coming into the restaurant to deliver mental health awareness sessions with all staff members was really helpful and that this will be a long-term partnership for the years to come.
"It was really well received and it really addressed everyday issues," he said.
"We talked about social anxiety, working on self-esteem and coping mechanisms, really relevant topics to all of our staff.
"We have many people who are coming through adolescence and going into adulthood among our staff so they are a key demographics to focus on. They seem to be much more affected, with social media and online activity they need to deal with every day."
Ms Stokes added: "It has been wonderful working with the team at McDonald's. Partnering with businesses really helps us reach more people who might be in need of our help – so we are very open to every partnership with local businesses.
"We are very grateful for the donation which is helping us fund our text-based support."
Support from Mikeysline is also available via text at 07786 207755, through WhatsApp at 01463 729000, or contact it via Messenger, webchat or Twitter.
